NFF, Hall to Honor Stovall in Tiger Stadium

July 06, 2010, 11:50 AM (CT)
Updated: July 06, 2010, 01:30 PM (CT)

Jerry Stovall will be honored during the LSU-Alabama football game.

LSUsports.net

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DALLAS - LSU and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor Jerry Stovall with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute Nov. 6, 2010, as the Tigers host Alabama in Baton Rouge.

"This is a great and important recognition for one of the legendary figures in LSU athletics history," LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva said. "This honor is long overdue for someone who had such a tremendous impact on the game of football. Jerry played an important role in our football history and LSU congratulates him on this well-deserved honor."

On May 27, the NFF announced that Stovall, who played halfback at LSU from 1960-62 and earned unanimous All-America honors in '62 , will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2010 class. Throughout the football season, each Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) College Football Hall of Fame inductee returns to his school for the special on-field event, where a commemorative plaque is presented to the university for permanent display. Beginning with the NFF's inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1951, the On-Campus Salute has served as the first of numerous highlights in the hall of fame experience, giving each inductee one more chance to take the field.

"Touchdowns, interceptions, special teams, Jerry Stovall did it all at LSU," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "In the era of two-way players, few dominated like Jerry Stovall. He's a tremendous athlete who went on to give back as a coach. It will be an enormous honor to travel to Tiger Stadium and hear the crowds cheer his name in appreciation."

Stovall was a literal "Mr. Everything" for LSU, playing halfback, defensive back, kick returner while and also handling punting duties during his three years in Baton Rouge. A two-time All-SEC First Team selection, Stovall was named the conference's Most Valuable Player in 1962 en route to finishing as the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind Oregon State's Terry Baker. A member of the 1961 SEC Championship team, he finished at LSU with 1,071 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, adding 462 yards and one touchdown receiving. He also held the LSU record holder for highest punting average (42.1) in a season, amassing 165 attempts for 6,477 yards by career's end. Stovall gained nearly 700 return yards on special teams and recorded seven interceptions as a defensive standout.

"This is a tremendous honor," Stovall said at the time of the May 27 announcement. "It's very humbling to be associated with such an impressive group of men who are in the College Football Hall of Fame...This is one of those honors that you really don't think about while you are growing up and playing the game, but now 30 or 40 years later, you look and see the list of names who are in the Hall of Fame and it makes you realize just how fortunate you are to be included with that group."

Selected in the first round of the1963 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Stovall played nine years in the NFL and was twice named to the All-Pro team. He was also selected to three Pro Bowls. Stovall later entered coaching and returned to LSU as head coach from 1980-83. In 1982, he was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to an 8-3-1 record and an Orange Bowl appearance. Stovall currently serves as the President & CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation and has served on the board of directors for the Louisiana Senior Games. He and his wife Judy have two children, and they reside in Baton Rouge, La.

The 2010 Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted at the NFF's Annual Awards Dinner, held at New York City's historic Waldorf=Astoria Hotel on Tuesday, December 7. The National Hall of Fame Salute at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl follows on January 1, giving the class recognition on a national stage, and events culminate with the College Football Hall of Fame's Enshrinement Festival in the summer of 2011. For ticket information, please contact Will Rudd at the National Football Foundation, 972-556-1000 or by email at wrudd@footballfoundation.com.